


Tied Together

by PearlsonFriday



Series: Olivarry Week 2016 [7]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Blushes intensely, Barry and Oliver get tied in a closet, F/M, Fabulously Gay Metas, M/M, Olivarry Week Day 7 - Soulmate AU, Red String of Fate, Tied in closets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 13:31:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7173833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearlsonFriday/pseuds/PearlsonFriday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Barry ever felt a tug at his string was when he was six. </p><p>He had been making rock candy with his Mom when he was overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness and pain. He was lucky his Mom caught before he fell off of the stool he had been sitting on watching her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tied Together

**Author's Note:**

> Red string of fate!! I love this!! Also I am sorry about the end. I am just now getting to Washington and I am so happy I finished this on time.

The first time Barry ever felt a tug at his string was when he was six. 

He had been making rock candy with his Mom when he was overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness and pain. He was lucky his Mom caught before he fell off of the stool he had been sitting on watching her. 

Nora had reached out to touch her son, only to have him scramble away from her, eyes wide with betrayal. She couched down beside her son, who looked so confused. 

Barry Allen looked up at the woman he loved most in the world. Something deep inside him told him she didn't love him, that he was only for show, like a painting or a vase. Tears poured down his cheeks as he looked up at her. “You don't love me? Why don't you love me?” 

Nora sat down on the floor and pulled her son into her lap. “Of course I love you, why wouldn't I?” She asked and the boy looked even more confused. 

“I know that… But something is telling me that you don't.” Barry said burrowing into his mother’s chest. 

The reason why struck Nora like a slap across the face. Oh she was pissed, who would do that to their child? She grabbed Barry's left hand and gently touched his ring finger. The reaction was instantaneous. The boy snatched his hand away and hissed, holding it close to his chest. Nora held him even closer. 

“Barry, it's your soulmate that feels like that.” She watched as realization dawned on her son’s face. Then anger as he looked at his left ring finger in disgust. 

“Why would any Mommy tells their kid that?” He was clearly upset.

Nora laced her fingers with her son’s and frowned as he flinched. “I don't know baby. I don't know.”

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ

When Oliver was seventeen he felt the first time on his string. 

His nanny had explained to him when he was six what strings were. She had pulled tiny Oliver into her lap and held out his left hand for her to examine. She had told him how the universe was made of a web of strings and how it had picked out the perfect person for Oliver and tied a string to their finger and tied the other end to Oliver. She had told him to close his eyes and think of something happy. So he did, and a few seconds later a tingly, almost sunny feeling filled his brain. He had looked at his nanny in amazement and she had laughed and patted his hand. She said how he would always feel these feelings good or bad, but Oliver was to excited to care. Someone out there really loved him.

(Not even hours later, Moira told him it was all a sham and crushed his smol bean heart.) 

Seventeen year old Oliver had been in the middle of fucking some girl he had found at a club, when it hit him like a train. 

One second pleasure, the next second hurt, anger, increadable sadness and over all of that fear. He had stumbled out of bed, much to random girl’s (Peggy? Or maybe Patty?) displeasure, tripping into the bathroom and throwing up. The feeling had been that intense. The girl had walked in after him, demanding answers. Oliver vaugly remembered telling her to get the fuck out and then throwing up agian and crying as flashes of emotion and lightning lot up his mind.

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ

This marked an obvious change in Oliver, noticed by all. He became more demure and practically clung to his parents, especially Moira, much to Robert’s delight.

He all but stopped partying, much to he paparazzi’s distress and much to Tommy’s horror. He really only talked to Tommy, Thea and The Lance sisters. 

Thea was the one that was most affected by the final change. She had discovered it the night of the first lightning storm after the ‘incident’.

Thea had been asleep for hours when there was a knock on her door. She had climbed out of bed and opened the door, rubbing her eyes. It was needless to say she was very surprised to find her teenage brother standing their looking sheepish. 

“Wassup Ollie?” She slurred. 

The teen looked incredibly awkward and she would have laughed if she hadn't seen the fear underneath. “C-can I…” Lightning struck near by and Oliver straighten and sucked in a breath. “CanIstaywithyoutonight?” Thea who was used to Oliver's fast talking, nodded and grabbed his hand tugging him towards her bed. 

The two siblings settled down, Oliver clutching her like she was the only thing to keep him from flying away. She looked at him slightly confused. “You were never afraid of lightning before?” 

Oliver hugged her seven year old frame tighter, shivering as images of a man in a ball of lightning and a puddle of blood limped across his mind. “I'm not, my soulmate is.” He murmured into her hair. 

Thea seemed to accept this and promptly fell asleep. Oliver soon followed. 

From there, Thea began to notice how her brother cringed at the sight of kitchen knives, yellow jogging suits and the dark. It was fascinating for her.

This new behavior lasted for five months, then old Ollie was back and Thea was not the only person who was a little bit sad about that. 

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

For Barry, the first time his string was yanked was when he was seventeen. 

He had been sitting in AP Chemistry when he thought he heard two gun shots. He stood up drawing the attention of the whole class. That was when the emotions hit. 

For the last few days, he had been increadably sad and extremely hungry. That was nothing like this. Fear, pain, sadness and uncertainty washed over him like a tidal wave. He made it to the trash can before throwing up. All eyes were still on him as he stood up, wiped his mouth and then promptly blacked out. His last thoughts where how her remembered this exact feeling from years ago. The feeling of a parent dying in front of him. 

When he woke up, he was at home, tucked in his bed. Iris sitting on the end staring at him. He sat up subtly, startling her. She moved closer and that's when the tears began. Iris pulled her adoptive brother into her arms. 

He sobbed for a while. When he finally did stop for air, he looked straight into her eyes with his own red rimmed ones and spoke five words that made her join him ingots sobbing. 

“My soulmate’s Dad is dead.” 

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

The next five years were hell for all parties involved, especially Oliver and Barry. Oliver because he was experiencing the horrors of the world first hand and Barry because he was experiencing the emotions from said experiences while having no clue what was going on. 

It was only when the two finally met they realized what was going on.

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

Oliver was pissed. If his hunches were correct, Starling City better buckle down because they had a shit storm of apocalyptic magnitude headed their way. 

His mind wandered back to the island as Lance lectures him on security. It was at this point he felt a tugging coming from his left hand. He looked at it as it twitched at his side. This could not be good. 

It was at that point that a very young man steeped thrown the open doors and the muzzy feeling at the back of Oliver's head that signified his soulmate, suddenly became high definition. 

It was a special mix of awkward, anxiety, sadness and giddiness. 

It appears as though the man realized this same feeling too. 

The filter on Oliver's mouth was momentarily broken.

“Do your parents know you're here?” He watches the boy cringe lightly and internally slapping a hand over his mouth. 

This is the beginning of an interesting relationship.

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

Over the years, this relationship evolved. From things like chocking and saying “Giys like us don't get to have a destiny.” To awkward flirting on missions and training that involved not getting shot in the back. 

After the defeat of Zoom and Iris’ marriage to Eddie (who turned out to be her soulmate, much to Barry's discomfort) things in Central City settled down. 

That of course means that it was the perfect time for a new Meta to attack. Accept that this Meta was different. The man, whom they had discovered was John Hamilton, didn't really have a reason for what he was doing. Or one as far as Team Flash knew. He didn't steal anything, he didn't have any vendettas. He was currently in attached to any guy (they had discovered this after their first run in with his perfectly styled hair and eye lined blue eyes) psychopath or not. He only appeared to want to draw the Flash out.

This was not the only interesting thing about John Hamilton, his powers also mystified the crew. He appeared to have the ability to manipulate the web of the universe. He could tie the red string of fate in knots or make a ball of golden familial love yarn. It was all add indefinatly more intersting when Barry discovered that he never had a soulmate and that on the night of the particle accelerator he had been meditating and trying to find his string. If they were honest with themselves, the S.T.A.R. Labs crew were kind of in awe of him. 

Cisco named him Web Weaver. 

It was the third run in Barry decided they needed help. 

It went down like this. 

Barry has been running around town on patrol when something jerked at his speed force and began to reel him in.

That could only mean one thing. 

Web Weaver. 

Sure enough, standing in the middle of the park, his outfit woven from the strings of the universe. He smiled at Barry before tying him up in an invisible string. Instantly, Iris, Caitlin, and Cisco and the memories came with them, danced through his head. He had been tied up in his own friendship. 

The man sat down in front of Barry as he struggled. He sighed at the speedster. “You can't escape until I let you go. I just brought you here to tell you that you will never stop me by yourself and the added bonus is that I am planning something that will change earth forever. That's it, goodnight.” Then Web Weaver walked calmly away, while Barry sat struggling to escape his own memories while sitting on the ground. 

When he was finally let go, he ran back to S.T.A.R. Labs. On the way he decided it was time to call it the big guns.

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

One phone call later, Team Arrow was on their way.

Unfortunately for both teams, this is exactly what Web Weaver wanted. 

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

This was perhaps the most embarrassing position Barry had ever been in in his life. 

Both vigilantes had shown up together when Web Weaver had begun making the sky light up strangling. Both of them had been knocked out in a matter of seconds. 

When they had woken up, Barry just about died from blushing so hard. 

Web Weaver had tied Oliver to the chair first and then tied Barry so that he was straddling Oliver. Meanwhile Oliver's hands had been tied to his waist and Barry's were tied around the other vigilantes neck. 

So basically they were rein acting the make out scene pose from every romance movie ever. 

Minus the making out of course, which if Barry was honest with himself was slightly disappointing. 

Web Weaver walked in as Barry was trying to wake his fellow vigilante up. 

Barry saw the man and growled. “Let us go!” 

The other meta just laughed sadly. “No, not until you realize how lucky you are. You have a soulmate and you both dance around each other all the damn time. I know cause I can see it. I see how thick your string is growing and I watch as you try to ignore it. So, I tied you up in your own red string of fate. You work out the knots in you relationship and accept each other and you are free to go and you will never see me again.” With that the meta patted the speedster’s head and left.

Barry just about cried. 

Web Weaver appeared a second later. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Your friends can't help you. I told your little Vibe friend and he helped me set this up. Comms will be off until tomorrow morning. Have fun~” Then the Meddling Meta left for the last time. 

This time Barry laid his head on Oliver's shoulder and sighs, praying to everything and anything to set them free. 

ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ 

When Oliver woke up he was comfortable, even though he was tied to a chair. That was when he realized why. He had a lap full of Scarlet Speedster who happened to be holding him and laying on his shoulder. Oliver groaned and rolled his head so it rested on the speedster's shoulder. 

Barry was instantly up. “Oliver? You awake?” 

The archer groaned again. “Yes. Care to explain what's going on?” He gingerly pulled his head off of Barry’s shoulder and looked into the speedster's green eyes. The other man blushed intensely. He opened his mouth but Oliver cut him off after noticing something. “Why are we still here if there are no ropes keeping us here?” 

The meta human blushed even harder. “Uh…. We are tied up… We just can't see them, yet.”

Oliver's face scrunched in confusion. “Yet?” 

Barry’s blush was reaching head rush levels. “Well, he kind of…. Tied usupwithourownredstringoffate.” He speed talked.

Oliver sighed. “Slower Barry and more detail please.” 

Barry seemed to get more confident. “He tied us up with our own red string of fate and the only we can escape is talk it out and accept each other. He turned off our comms and Cisco helped him, so we are out of luck with our friends.” 

Oliver looked like he was in pain. “I officially hate John Hamilton.” 

Barry laughed and set his chin on Oliver's shoulder again. His breath tickled the archer's ear as he spoke. “Maybe we should just get it over with. Like ripping off a band aid.” Oliver shivered and nodded. More breath tickled his neck. “Where should we start?”

“At the beginning.” 

This began a very long conversation. 

“I first felt your tug when I was six.” Barry pushed his head back from Oliver's shoulder. “Did your mother really think about you like that?” He watches Oliver's face go stony cold. Barry frowned at him. “You can't do that again. You can't go cold on me, we need to talk about these things. I want to go free and I want to finally clear the air between us.” 

Oliver looked away from Barry's intense gaze. “Yes…” He murmured. Barry's arms tightened around his neck. 

“That bitch.” Barry hissed quietly. Oliver sighed gently and tightened his hands on his hips. 

Barry felt the string on his legs loosen. 

Oliver spoke next. “The night your mom died, I threw up. I changed. I clung to my parents and was afraid of lightning. Most of all, I am pretty sure those five months were longest time I was abstinent between when I started having sex and the island.” Barry laughed. 

“I'm sorry about that.” He looked into Oliver's eyes. “I felt when your dad died. I was in Chemistry. I threw up too.” 

They both laughed sadly. They both stared into each other's eyes. “What are we going to do, Ollie?” 

“Our life demands sacrifice…” Oliver says gently. 

“It's dangerous, I know…” Barry replies. 

“But I think we can make it work.” Oliver said quickly before pressing his lips to Barry's.

They stayed like that, finally feeling the string in uncoil from around them and snapping into place. Oliver wrapped his arms tighter around Barry's hips. Barry scooched farther up Oliver's lap and tucked in tighter to the archer’s chest. 

When they finally broke apart. Barry let his head lay on Oliver's shoulder and tucked his face in the crook of the other vigilante’s neck. 

Silence reigned.

Until Barry broke it. “I accept you.” 

Oliver stiffened and Barry kneaded his back. Oliver sighed and relaxed into the touch. 

“I accept you too.” 

There was a burning on both their left ring fingers. Barry pulled his hand from behind Oliver's head and stared at his finger in absolute excitement. An arrow twisted around his ring finger and the words Oliver Queen in cursive wrote themselves on top of the arrow. He held it up for Oliver to see. Oliver held up his own the words Bartholomew Allen written in Barry's own scrawl inside of a lightning bolt, wrapped around his left ring finger. Oliver laced their fingers together. 

Barry kisses him again. 

They would make this work and it would be amazing.

**Author's Note:**

> No Grammarly again. Sorry about grammar.


End file.
